


familiar

by ceallachs



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Animal Ears, Ayakashi, Contracts, M/M, Mention of Animal Death, akashi is a tad oblivious to human norms, but it is not graphic, cat familiar, kuroko suffers from it, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21563533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceallachs/pseuds/ceallachs
Summary: For a moment, Tetsuya ponders on the best possible escape route, one where he can easily slip past the stranger with minor casualties if he’s quick enough–“Seijuurou.”He blinks. “Pardon?”“Seijuurou, is what I was called.”Tetsuya wakes up to an unexpected visitor in his room.
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou/Kuroko Tetsuya
Comments: 21
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a short writing exercise I did back in 2017 for my friend, Sora. I've left it unedited when I transferred it here, so please pardon the mistakes and awkward writing.

Tetsuya anticipates danger in its most brutal form when his eyes trail over long, sharp nails – _claws –_ tapping against wood in slow, precise intervals while the owner intently analyzes Tetsuya like a prey.

Waking up to a stranger in his room, a man donned in a fine yukata and what appears to be a pair of ears and a tail akin to that of a feline’s, Tetsuya convinces himself he must still be dreaming.

So he pinches himself on the arm, and he would have slapped himself in the face too for good measure, but he's already as awake as he can ever be and this is anything but a dream.

The person in front of him – if Tetsuya can even call him as such – is very much real and almost human despite his unusual appearance, but that fact offers no consolation to the situation.

“Who… what are you?” Tetsuya questions, cautious so as not to stir whatever beast might be lurking inside him.

Silence meets the question when the man rises from the desk and faces the bed where Tetsuya is at. His eyes do not wane from Tetsuya’s figure, gaze firm as he observes the slightest of movements with a certain curiosity Tetsuya cannot fully understand.

For a moment, Tetsuya ponders on the best possible escape route, one where he can easily slip past the stranger with minor casualties if he’s quick enough–

“Seijuurou.”

He blinks. “Pardon?”

“Seijuurou, is what I was called.”

“Oh.”

_Oh._

When the introduction settles in, and as if being faced with a possible threat to his life offered no physical consequence, Tetsuya scrambles up from the bed and on his bare feet, pajamas wrinkled and hair tousled as he lowers his head with all manners intact to pay his greetings.

“Seijuurou…san,” he offers, the pause that follows hinting to the late realization only fools would make, and as such, he commits to the act. “Pleased to meet you… My name is Kuroko Tetsuya.”

Tetsuya hears no response to that, but he later comes to accept his mistake when the hem of Seijuurou’s garment comes to view. A warm hand grasps at his jaw, carefully drawing his head upwards so that he’s met with striking red and gold.

“Kuroko Tetsuya…” Seijuurou drawls, testing the name on his tongue. From here, Tetsuya feels the tip of those nails grazing at his skin, observes how the pointy ears on Seijuurou’s head twitch in alert. “You are rather polite.” He says this as if he doesn’t believe it, like such a trait can be anything but genuine and true.

Even so, it’s short of mocking, with the way Seijuurou’s forehead creases and he purses his lips in attempt to make sense of how to proceed from here; Tetsuya can tell he looks a little lost, a little unsure – but for what reason, he doesn’t know.

Until something sparks, something of a memory of not long ago.

_Soft, red fur stained with blood, eyes that never opened again…_

“Oh… Oh, it’s you,” Tetsuya chimes in a second later, surprising even Seijuurou himself. Restrictions and the initial fear aside, he reaches over to cup Seijuurou’s face to scrutinize up-close. “It’s you, isn’t it?” A new light glints in Tetsuya’s eyes with sheer recognition, fondness, and relief – one that Seijuurou has never seen nor felt before. “…The cat I tried to save.”

Seijuurou vividly remembers then; a lone cat who had nowhere to go, having its first taste of freedom only for it to come to an end too soon. The culprit, a speeding van, did not even stop to look at what it had run over and continued on with its merry way.

He remembers watching over his lifeless form, remembers how no one had witnessed nor cared.

Yet a boy, one Seijuurou did not even notice in his state of being, came in to scoop the small corpse in his arms and bring back home to nurse back to health, to life. How foolish, Seijuurou thought at the time, for the breath of life had already been stolen and lost to the cat’s soul, but the boy persevered. Only until the very last second when that flicker of hope had died out, that his acceptance to the loss ended with a burial and a short prayer in his garden.

The wish for the cat to have lived a good life, and that the trip to the afterlife will be safe and well.

“Seijuurou-san?”

Seijuurou watches Tetsuya for a meaningful moment, familiarity flowing through him in turns. His sharp eyes soften with foreign emotion, almost peaceful and warm, when he takes Tetsuya’s hands and brings them down from his face, only so Seijuurou can gracefully drop down on one knee before him.

“…What?” Tetsuya fidgets, but he is kept in place.

“ _Tetsuya_ ,” Seijuurou speaks, drawing the back of Tetsuya’s wrist to his lips. When he looks up, it is of pure devotion as if he has been born anew. Tetsuya takes it all in with astonishment and confusion. “From this day on, I am yours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a continuation for this, but I can't remember if I actually got around to finishing it. If I ever find it in my folders again, I might put it up. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually did end up finding the continuation. It was unfinished like I expected, but I had something going on already, so I decided to edit and write a bit more. I hope this little addition is to your liking ww

Seijuurou has resigned to the bed by the time Tetsuya returns to the room. He's carrying a tray of tea served for two, the warm aroma wafting into the air. 

It has only been a few days since Seijuurou appeared and he has settled in nicely into Tetsuya's home like he belongs in the first place.

“Excuse me,” Tetsuya utters when he enters, as if Seijuurou is the host and he, the guest.

As unconventional as it is, they have fallen into this routine of cohabitation and it's peaceful for the most part. Seijuurou is courteous and he never complains. He observes but he never intervenes, asks questions and entertains the answers Tetsuya gives.

When Seijuurou sits up on the edge of the bed to accept the cup, Tetsuya almost anticipates him to lap the drink with his tongue. But of course, Seijuurou blows on it elegantly as any gentleman would on a fine Sunday afternoon – just that this gentleman had tall pointy ears that raised and lowered depending on his mood, and is dressed in exquisite garment that causes disorientation to the image.

Tetsuya tries not to be distracted by the little things. It's hard not to be; Seijuurou is an unusual but handsome man.

As if feeling his stare, Seijuurou looks up and sends him a curious gaze. “Something is on your mind.”

Tetsuya sets the tray down, seating himself on the floor before Seijuurou's feet. There is allowance for comfort between them now, even though Tetsuya still finds the situation quite bizarre.

"I suppose there is."

It’s hard to tell what Seijuurou thinks sometimes. They hardly converse for long periods of time. Tetsuya is off to school from morning till noon and does part-time work on weekend mornings. Seijuurou, on the other hand, is usually found at unusual places in the house – watching, observing, relearning the world. He seems content like this.

What Tetsuya notices, however, is that Seijuurou has taken a particular interest on his bookshelf, perusing the hefty selection of reading materials on days when he is lounging in the room. He takes one to occupy his time everyday, and today it's Japanese Literature. The said book is on the bed.

It doesn’t strike Tetsuya’s curiosity as much that Seijuurou knows how to read, than it fascinates him how Seijuurou has taken a liking to his taste in books.

“About how you…” Tetsuya’s uncertainty and discomfort comes clear, yet Seijuurou only regards him with a raised brow. The look urges him to continue. “Well, that you are mine.”

Seijuurou lowers the cup onto his lap, forgotten for a moment as he waits for it to cool to his desired temperature. “What of it needs further explaining? I thought I’ve made that clear; I belong to you now.”

It isn't the first time that Seijuurou has said this, yet it still puzzles Tetsuya how someone can confidently assert such a notion. Though their conversations are scarce, Seijuurou does not shy away from referring to himself like property Tetsuya owns. _He's so strange_ , Tetsuya thinks. Then again, Seijuurou is by no means ordinary, after all.

“Do you not want to own me?”

That startles him more than he wants to admit. “No–yes, I mean...ah. Please don’t say it that way...”

Seijuurou laughs then, short and airy but Tetsuya heard it nonetheless. As astounded as he is to have garnered such a reaction, he only deflates from embarrassment at his own panicked reaction.

“Pardon. I simply find some difficulty understanding why this is still bothering you.”

 _Because it isn't normal._ Tetsuya wonders if Seijuurou will understand the very concept of normalcy to begin with.

He tries anyway. "It's not an everyday occurrence that this sort of thing happens to me, you know."

"I understand that it may be peculiar, though I think we are both adjusting quite well."

"But I am not prepared to house you on such short notice, nor am I sure if I can in the long run."

"I do not require much and I can fare on my own. Your room is enough to accommodate my needs."

"What if my grandmother sees you?"

"Impossible; this form is only visible to you."

Seijuurou tips his excuses like single pins in a bowling lane and Tetsuya grows desperate each time. He doesn't hate Seijuurou being here, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear.

He watches Seijuurou return to blowing on his tea, unperturbed by Tetsuya's concerns and instead looking more pleased that the steam from the cup has more or less disappeared.

Tetsuya sighs when he takes a sip. “This still doesn’t make sense, Seijuurou-san. I cannot just… own a person.”

“I am not a _person_ , Tetsuya. But I was a stray cat before all of this, yes. The specifics hardly matter now, do they?"

Tetsuya resists the urge to grab Seijuurou by the shoulders and shake him so he'll understand. To Tetsuya, he looks human enough, with very evident feline features but very human-like nonetheless. He speaks and behaves like any civilized human would and that is the reason why this spark of devotion feels heavily misplaced. It might have even been more acceptable if Seijuurou looked like an actual cat, then perhaps he'd have been more open to an adoption.

As if finally sensing the storm that is worrying Tetsuya's mind, Seijuurou interrupts his thoughts with a firm call. "Tetsuya."

He looks up to see Seijuurou place the cup on the floor, and then leans his elbows on his lap so he can hover directly in front of Tetsuya's face.

The silence stretches but neither break eye contact. It is Seijuurou who speaks first.

“In my previous life, you have taken me into your home and tried to nurse me to health. You may have failed to save my life, but my original body has now become part of your soil.”

Tetsuya blinks, the memories rushing back to him even like it was yesterday. To the day he buried that cat. It hasn't been that long, but he believed himself to be a naïve young boy back then, not knowing that the cat he took home had been dead all along. Yet he had hoped that, somehow, if he prayed enough, if he wished enough, then maybe it had another chance.

Is that why Seijuurou is bound to this place? He is bound to Tetsuya's wishes of return?

Tetsuya tries to find the answers in Seijuurou's eyes but those usually sharp red and gold suddenly glint with distant longing, like he's recalling a time that was now lost to him but it isn't the past that he longs for anymore.

“I have come back to you as you have desired. During the past few days of my stay, you did not turn me away. Am I misunderstanding this?”

Tetsuya presses his lips together into a thin line, finding he has no excuse for it. He took Seijuurou in and allowed him to stay, offered him meals and freedom to loiter, and they conversed about nothing and everything.

“I suppose in human terms, you would need a more tangible contract,” Seijuurou offers.

Before Tetsuya can clarify what that entails, Seijuurou holds him carefully by the jaw; the distance between them closes and the contract is sealed with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so... I have some idea on how this could go, but nothing really set in stone and this was the last of my drafts. If I do update this, each chapter might just be self-contained. Maybe? Comments would be nice ww


End file.
